Abstract
Māori knew about and believed in Christianity before the arrival of the missionaries to Aotearoa, New Zealand. When missionaries did arrive, the stories of Jesus and God, the works of the apostles, and the power of the Word all found an open ear,[1] and the themes and characters were not unfamiliar to Māori philosophy and tikanga. The central premise of this thesis is to understand what it means for Māori to be Māori and to be Catholic, and to understand the intersectionality of whakapapa and faith. Further, it seeks to explore the expressions Māori have supported and created to live their culture and faith within a European-led Church.
This thesis has three primary objectives: to determine why Māori chose to be Catholic, given the colonial Eurocentric nature of the religion; to appreciate and examine the ways Māori have expressed and continue to express themselves within the Church; and to provide a voice for Māori to speak to the ambiguity, racism, tension, hopes and dreams they experience as Māori Catholics.
Kaupapa Māori theory underpins this thesis because it supports and provides culturally authentic tikanga, kawa, wairua, and whakaaro to guide and create meaning. It draws from many generations of lore, practice, philosophy, and experience of whānau, hapū, iwi, and hāpori Katorika.
Traders, fishermen, and settlers practised the Catholic faith in and around New Zealand until the early French missionaries, motivated by an authentically evangelical sentiment, travelled from Europe to a mostly pre-colonial New Zealand to share with the natives of New Zealand, the 'Māori', the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Within a matter of years of Pompallier attending the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in Waitangi, Irish, British, and Dutch priests and religious orders arrived to spread the faith, opening schools and centres of health, and later hospitals.
By 1860 to 1870, the focus of many missionaries, and certainly diocesan priests, had changed from Māori to serving the families of soldiers and settlers. This was due to the Land Wars, for which the Wairau incident in 1843 was arguably the precursor. The period from1845 to1872 encompasses most of the conflict, during which the British confiscated land and forced iwi, hapū and whānau off their whenua. The appointment of Bishop Liston, the first New Zealand born bishop in 1929, reinforced a direction away from supporting Māori mission towards the established colonial Church in New Zealand.
I constructed kōrero with kaumatua and pakeke. These focus on the experience of being Catholic from a Māori position. The subsequent discussion examines specific aspects of each kōrero to form an indicative understanding of Māori Catholic 'archetypal'[2] story. The discussion also outlines several issues surrounding the Eurocentric Church structure that impact its ability to thrive, and which, if addressed, would enable 'life in abundance' (John 10:10). Despite the descriptions and experiences of racism, sexism, clericalism, and a lack of shared leadership and decision-making, the discussion explores the hopes of Māori who continue to hold Katorika as a part of their identity, or who have done so in the past.
[1] Cameron, Graham Bidois. "That you might stand here on the roof of the clouds.": The development of Pirirākau theology from encounter to the end of conflict, 1839-1881. (PhD diss., University of Otago, 2016).
[2] Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers, The Power of Myth, ed. Betty Sue Flowers (New York: Doubleday, 1988), 107.